Experienced Hardie Siding | Southern Maine Siding

James Hardie's specification sheet puts HardiePlank at 2.31 pounds per square foot, in 5/16 inch boards 12 feet long. The company says to carry each plank on edge, one person holding the middle with arms spread apart, and to store the boards dry on a pallet.

Cutting is the bigger tradeoff. OSHA states that cutting fiber cement with a handheld circular saw can make respirable crystalline silica dust, which can irreversibly damage the lungs when breathed over time.

James Hardie's silica safety page points to OSHA's Table 1 control: a saw with a commercially available dust collection system, used outdoors only. We cut that way, never inside a garage or the house, and clean up with a HEPA vacuum instead of a blower, as OSHA advises.

Every Maine ZIP code on James Hardie's state and ZIP list falls in its HZ5 zone, which the Hardie zone system describes as made for freezing climates, with a drip edge for water management. We confirm your ZIP on Hardie's lookup before ordering.

James Hardie names code-compliant water-resistive barriers as part of the wall and says joint flashing must be durable, waterproof and safe with cement products. Its Quick Start guide sets 6 inches from siding to the ground, 2 inches to slabs, steps and decks, and 2 inches between a roof and the wall.

We blind nail where Hardie prefers it, with the corrosion-resistant galvanized or stainless fasteners it requires, and keep any face-nail head snug, never countersunk. Hardie also says not to caulk joint flashing or the gap above horizontal Z-flashing, so those spots stay free to drain.

James Hardie fiber cement averages $1,625 to $2,000 per square here, against $1,000 to $1,250 for vinyl. That premium buys a rigid plank with crisp shadow lines, where vinyl siding replacement gives you a panel nailed loose to slide as it warms.

LP siding averages $1,500 to $1,875 per square and cuts with ordinary woodworking tools, LP says, but LP rates it Class C for flame spread. James Hardie states its board will not burn, though it notes the paint on the face can still char.

Against cedar shingle siding at about $2,500 a square, Hardie gives up the hand-laid wall that weathers silver. A house built in cedar shingles should go back in cedar.